Manitoba

Tours of Manitoba’s oil fields, air museums, pioneer villages, spacious parks, government mint, and scenic waterways provide non-stop options for action-minded tourists. And there’s another kind of action to be found at the province’s casinos and race track.

First stop is Virden, on Trans-Canada Hwy 1. Naturally, you’re going to want to take an oil field tour and step back to a Victorian lifestyle at the circa 1988 Pioneer Home Museum in town, right?

Now that we’ve scratched that itch, travel east on Trans-Canada Hwy 1 towards Winnipeg. However, don’t “leadfoot” your way through the town of Brandon. Manitoba’s “Wheat City” features the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum where loads of WWII-era Royal Canadian Air Force planes and memorabilia are on display. At Brandon’s Daly House Museum, you can investigate the details of a late 1880s family home and grocery store. Hearing the proverbial “call of the wild?” Then it’s time to rent a kayak or bike or take a narrated boat ride on the Assiniboine River at the Stream ‘N Wood Adventure Centre. Otherwise, Portage La Prairie’s Fort La Reine Museum and Pioneer Village showcases a 1700s-style replica fort and a circa 1880s village with trapper’s cabin, trading post, fire hall, country school, church, and doctor’s office.

Or focus your wagers on the four-legged variety at Assiniboia Downs with seasonal thoroughbred horse racing and year-round simulcast wagering. The fun and learning opportunities never cease at Assiniboine Park, with its exceptional zoo, conservatory, miniature railroad, and assorted gardens, restaurant, museum, and theatre.

Participate in a guided tour and visit the museum and store at the Royal Canadian Mint, where all those shiny new coins for circulation in Canada and several other countries are made on-site. At the Western Canada Aviation Museum, you can practice your piloting know-how on the FLIGHTWAYS simulation program and view vintage aircraft, including a replica Avrocar flying saucer. Sorry, no aliens on display just yet.